Scottsdale -- , Ariz. - Reliever Heath Hembree must have been stunned to be called into manager Bruce Bochy's office and told he was being optioned to Triple-A. He was in the majors last year and had a great spring, allowing one run in five innings with two walks and five strikeouts.

Hembree just faced too much competition from more experienced pitchers and management's desire to carry one or two relievers who can throw multiple innings. The club also wants Hembree to refine his secondary pitches.

"Some other guys are going to get the first shot here, and they're better suited for the club at this time," Bochy said. "For his development, it's best to go down and pitch."

Hembree's departure is good news for George Kontos and Dan Runzler, a righty and lefty who also are throwing well. It's also telling that Derek Law, who has no big-league experience, survived what might be the final cuts before the team heads north for the Bay Bridge exhibitions.

Petit aided his cause immensely Friday night when he started against the A's and struck out seven of his 14 hitters in four shutout innings, also providing some reassurance that he can step in again as a replacement starter.

"I'm ready for any job they give me, long reliever or starter," Petit said.

The left-handed Huff then answered with three perfect innings in his longest outing.

Cain better: Giants fans might not have been there to see it, but an important audience of one was happy with Matt Cain's reassuring six innings in a Triple-A game against the Angels.

Pitching coach Dave Righetti watched Cain allow three runs on three hits with no walks and four strikeouts against a lineup that included several major-leaguers, including Yorvit Torrealba, Brennan Boesch and Ian Stewart. The runs scored on Boesch's solo homer and a two-run shot by J.B. Shuck.

That was a big improvement over Cain's last Cactus League start, a week ago against the A's, when he allowed seven runs in 2 2/3 innings.

"Today was better," Cain said. "The other day was a little out of whack. Today I threw a lot more strikes."

Righetti agreed, saying Cain's pitches had more life and downward tilt than they did against Oakland, when he was "flat, side-to-side and he was showing them the baseball. That's a habit you can get into down here when you don't feel strong. They all go through it."

On Friday, Cain threw 90 pitches and said he felt strong toward the end. He has two spring starts remaining.

Briefly: Michael Morse, who had been out 12 days with a calf injury, played four innings and looked fine running the bases after reaching on an error. ... Bochy said Buster Posey will get a start at first base before the Giants head north. ... Hector Sanchez, a.k.a. "The Magnet," took consecutive Jed Lowrie foul balls to his shoulder and privates in the first inning.

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Giants 3, A's 0

Notable: The Giants beat the A's for the first time in four spring games; Oakland held a 25-12 scoring edge in the first three. ... Hector Sanchez had two hits and is batting .325; Joaquin Ariasis also at .325 after a hit and an RBI. ... Every member of Oakland's infield except Josh Donaldson made an error. Shortstop Jed Lowrie said that the dimmer spring-training lights created difficulties both offensively and defensively; he didn't see one liner Angel Paganhit until it reached the dirt. ... The A's lineup had a distinct potential Opening Night feel about it, with all regulars. ... Outfielder Josh Reddick left the game in the third with a contact-lens problem. ... An error by first baseman Brandon Moss led to the only run off A's starter Sonny Gray. ... Yoenis Céspedes went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and is batting .130.

Quotable: "When you have more errors than you do hits ... we've been playing pretty well here lately, and sometimes an off day does that to you." - Bob Melvin, A's manager, whose team had scored 83 runs in the previous eight games.

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